Winter front for automobile radiators



May 15, 1934. M w REEVES 1,958,767

WINTER FRONT FOR AUTOMOBILE RADIATORS Filed April 1, 1935 INVENTOR-/"\ark W. Reeves.

OM ATT RNEY- Patented May is, an

WINTER mom IFQR AUTQMQBHLE nanrn'roas This invention relates to a winterfront or a protector for the radiator of an automobile of that classwhich is intended to prevent freezing of the radiator in cold weatherand control the passage of air through the radiator.

While devices for this purpose have been in use, they have been attachedto the front face of the radiator in either a permanent or detachablemanner, and have either been in the form of a series of shutters, orfabric curtain which is unsightly and which has to be removed in warmweather.

One of the, objects'of the present invention is to provide a protectorthat may be used with the present style of automobile where the radiatoris constructed with a grill mounted in front of it for both protectionand looks, and where the usual type of winter front can not be attachedas these grills are either curved outward or are ll-shaped.

Another object of the invention is to provide a protector in the form ofa curtain mounted upon a roller and located between the radiator coreand the grid or grilLand which may either be installed during themanufacture of the automobile, or afterward, and left in place duringthe hot weather, as it may be rolled up out of the way, and beingconstructed of metal similar to that used in tape lines it will not beafiected by weather conditions.

Another object of the invention is to provide means whereby the devicemay be readily attached to the radiators of cars, aeroplanes, tractorsand in fact to any vehicle in which a water cooling radiator is used.

Another object being to provide means whereby the device may be adjustedand held in place to cover any desired portion of the radiator, from thebottom upward.

Another object being to provide means whereby the device is held in asecure position to eliminate any noise or rattle.

With these and other objects in view, my invention consists in certainnovel construction and combination of parts as will hereinafter be fullydescribed and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawingwhich'forms a part hereof, and in which like figures of reference referto corresponding parts in all of the views, and it is understood thatslight changes may be made without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

In the drawing:

Figure- 1 shows the front elevation partly in section of the grill andradiator of an automobile,

with my device in place between the front of the radiator core and theback of the grill.

Figure. 2 is a horizontal cross section of the same, taken on the line22 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 shows a partial section of the same, enlarged to show detailsof construction, and the method of adjusting the protector and holdingthe same in place.

Figure 4 shows a vertical sectional View of Figure 1, to furtherillustrate the application of I the device.

Figure 5 shows a detail front elevation of the mounting frame for thecurtain roller.

Referring to the drawing:

The usual radiator core is indicated by the numeral 10, and to this isattached the grill 11, which is spaced from the core 10 and which is inmany cases mounted at an angle to said core. 10, and formed with thecentral rod 12 and a series of rods 13 so spaced apart as to formopenings 14 between the same, through which the air passes to andthrough the radiator core 10 for the cooling of the same; said radiatorcore 10 and grill 11 being mounted in some suitable manner upon theautomobile frame 15; and it will be noted that the bottom of theradiatorcore 10 does not extend as far down as the bottom of the grill,but stops just above the crank cap 16.

My device comprises a suitable frame, the size and shape of which willdepend upon the make of vehicle to which it may be secured, as theseconditions will vary somewhat, but any suitable mounting means may beemployed for the purpose of affording a frame 17 having outer ,endbearings 18, within which is rotatably mounted the trunnions 19 of aroller 20; one of said trunnions 19 being freely rotatable within thebearing 18, and the other trunnion being flatted and prevented fromrotation within the bearing, and attached to a spiral spring 21 mountedwithin the roller 20 in the same manner as a shade roller, so that thecurtain 22 is unrolled from the roller under tension, and when releasedwill wind up upon said roller 20.

These bearing ends 18 may if desired be provided with guideways 23.extending upward along the front edges of the radiator core 10, andwithin which the edges of the curtain 22 may slide, and these guides 23may be lined with some suitable material such as sponge rubber, felt,etc., but in most cases it will be found that the curtain 22 does notrequire these guides 23.

It will be understood that this frame 17 and the guideways may besecured either to the radia or core 1 3 or to the lower part of desiredheight.

grill 11 by any suitable means such as screws, clamps, etc., dependingupon the shape and construction of both the radiator and the grill, andthat this is not an essential part of the invention.

For raising and lowering the curtain 22, there is provided an operatingrod 24 having its inner end secured to the face of the curtain adjacentthe upper end thereof, and extending outward at right angles to saidcurtain, and between the grill rod 12 and the adjacent rod 13, and theouter end of said operating rod 24 is provided with a knob or handle 25,by which the rod may be moved up or down within the slot or opening 14,to raise or lower the curtain 22, which is in contact with the face ofthe radiator core 10.

The mounting frame 17 is formed as here shown with the ears 31 havingholes 30 forthe bolts 29 that pass through the radiator core 10 andmount the frame thereto.

To prevent noise of the operating rod 24 and to retain the same in placeand the curtain in an adjusted position against the tension of thespring 21 within the roller 20, there is provided a tension lockingdevice on the rod 24, which comprises a spiral spring 28 loosely mountedthereon with one of its ends in contact with a washer 26 which is incontact with and slides against the rear faces of the bar or, grill rod12 and the rod 13, while the rear end of said spring 25 contacts with aboss 27 on the curtain 22 to which the rod 24 is attached.

This spring 25 thus forces the rod 24 inward and retains the curtain 22in contact with the radiator core 10 at all times, and at the same timeproduces friction between the washer 26 and the rods 12 and 13, thusholding the rod 24 wherever it is placed and retaining the curtain 22 atany Should a more positive locking means be desired, the rod 13 may beprovided with a series weaver of notches or teeth in which the rod 24may be engaged, or if desired the curtain 22 may be raised and loweredby a cable attached to the upper edge thereof, threaded through theradiator core 10, over a pulley and to the dash of the vehicle to beoperated by the driver.-

It will be understood that the curtain is to be and formed with verticalopenings therein, andhaving a'frame mounted between said core and thegrill and secured to the core adjacent the lower end thereof, a springactuated roller mounted in said frame, and a flexible curtain mountedthereon, of an actuating rod secured to said curtain and extendingthrough one of the vertical openings in the grill for the purpose ofmoving said curtain, and a tension spring mounted on said rod betweenthe curtain and the grill.

2.1m a radiator protector, the combination with the radiator core and agrill spaced therefrom and formed. with vertical openings therein, andhaving a frame located between said core and the grill and attached tothe core, and a spring actuated roller having a curtain thereon openingsin said grill, and a locking device 7 mounted upon said rod comprising acoil spring mounted on said rod between the curtain and the grill toretain the curtain in an adjusted position.

MARK w. REEVES.

